Ninja miner

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A Mongolian ninja miner, panning for gold. Ninja gold miner, putting a gold flake into a pill bottle (4022060764).jpg
A Mongolian ninja miner, panning for gold.

Ninja miner is a nickname for a person who digs small unauthorized mines or pans dirt for gold in Mongolia. [1] The miners are so named because the green bowls they use for panning, when carried on their backs, are said to resemble the shells of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. [1] [2] [3]

Nickname informal name of a person, place, or thing, for affection or ridicule

A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place, or thing - commonly used for affection.

Mining The extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposit. These deposits form a mineralized package that is of economic interest to the miner.

Gold panning form of placer mining

Gold panning, or simply panning, is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especially because of its low cost and relative simplicity.

Many ninja miners are Mongolians who lost their jobs after the fall of Communism in Mongolia and became traditional herders. In 2001 and 2002 Mongolia faced two harsh winters (known as dzuds), and a third of the country's livestock was lost. Thousands of families took up ninja mining, and searched for quartz or gold on properties large mining companies deemed unmineable. [3] The ninja mining process starts by a group of miners (up to four) digging a hole usually 10–15 feet (3.0–4.6 m) deep using iron stakes, or until reaching a depth with a high gold content. Holes that are near to each other are connected underground. Upon completion of the hole one ninja miner works at the bottom of the hole by candlelight, digging up dirt, while another pulls dirt to the surface to be sifted by yet another ninja miner. [1]

Zud Mongolian term for a severe winter in which large number of livestock die

A zud or dzud is a Mongolian term for a severe winter in which large number of livestock die, primarily due to starvation due to being unable to graze, in other cases directly from the cold. There are various kinds of zud, including white zud, which is an extremely snowy winter in which livestock are unable to find nourishing foodstuff through the snow cover and starve.

Quartz mineral composed of silicon and oxygen atoms in a continuous framework of SiO₄ silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical formula of SiO₂

Quartz is a mineral composed of silicon and oxygen atoms in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical formula of SiO2. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, behind feldspar.

In 2003 there were approximately 30,000 ninja miners in Mongolia, [1] which increased to 100,000 in 2007. [3] Ninja miners earned an average of $10 a week in 2003, [1] which increased to $5–10 per day in 2007. [3] Students on summer break often work with their parents to help pay tuition. The largest ninja mining area is at Zaamar, a five-hour drive from Ulan Bator. [1]

United States dollar Currency of the United States of America

The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its territories per the United States Constitution since 1792. In practice, the dollar is divided into 100 smaller cent (¢) units, but is occasionally divided into 1000 mills (₥) for accounting. The circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars.

Zaamar District in Töv Province, Mongolia

Zaamar is a sum of Töv Province in Mongolia.

Ninja Mining is having an adverse effect on agriculture, as nomadic herders are having to move more frequently to find land for their livestock to graze on due to the increase in holes and the reduced amount of grass. This combined with the northward expansion of the Gobi Desert is causing some herders to reduce their herd to focus on higher quality livestock, while others are giving up nomadism and moving setting up farms and cooperatives. Peter Morrow, the CEO of Khan Bank (the former state agricultural bank) said this could be the end of traditional herding in Mongolia, "the last horse-based nomadic culture in the world". [3]

Gobi Desert desert in China and Mongolia

The Gobi Desert is a large desert or brushland region in Asia. It covers parts of Northern and Northeastern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Taklamakan Desert to the west, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the southwest, and by the North China Plain to the southeast. The Gobi is notable in history as part of the great Mongol Empire, and as the location of several important cities along the Silk Road.

An episode of the Animal Planet series River Monsters filmed in Mongolia mentioned ninja miners; a local guide mentioning that ninjas will aggressively defend their claims from intruders.

Animal Planet American basic cable and satellite television channel

Animal Planet is an American pay television channel owned by Discovery, Inc. First established on October 1, 1996, the network is primarily devoted to series and documentaries about wild animals and domestic pets.

<i>River Monsters</i> Wildlife documentary television series

River Monsters is a British and American wildlife documentary television programme produced for Animal Planet by Icon Films of Bristol, United Kingdom. It is hosted by extreme angler and biologist Jeremy Wade, who travels around the globe in search of the most fearsome freshwater killers, looking for clues, eyewitnesses, and stories about people who were dragged underwater by these vicious predators, he tries to catch the biggest specimens and then release them back into the wild. His aim is to help people understand the truth behind the animals' attacks on humans to save these rare creatures from extinction.

A feature-documentary Price of Gold [4] (Sven Zellner, Chingunjav Borkhuu; D 2012) ARTE - Dokumentarfilmpreis Duisburger Filmwoche [5] - HotDocs Toronto 2012, official selection World Showcase. [6] [7]

A photo-essay "Ninjas" by Sven Zellner and Building Sand Castles on the Steppe? Mining, Herding and Water Governance in the Gobi by Jennifer Lander and photographer Sven Zellner [8]

See also

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Mongolia Landlocked country in East Asia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia. Its area is roughly equivalent with the historical territory of Outer Mongolia, and that term is sometimes used to refer to the current state. It is sandwiched between Russia to the north and China to the south, where it neighbours the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, although only 37 kilometres (23 mi) separates them.

Geography of Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in Central Asia and East Asia, located between China and Russia. The terrain is one of mountains and rolling plateaus, with a high degree of relief. The total land area of Mongolia is 1,564,116 square kilometres. Overall, the land slopes from the high Altai Mountains of the west and the north to plains and depressions in the east and the south. The Khüiten Peak in extreme western Mongolia on the Chinese border is the highest point. The lowest point is at 518 m (1,699 ft), an otherwise undistinguished spot in the eastern Mongolian plain. The country has an average elevation of 1,580 m (5,180 ft).

Economy of Mongolia national economy

Economic activity in Mongolia has traditionally been based on agriculture and livestock. Mongolia also has extensive mineral deposits: copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Soviet assistance, at its height one-third of Gross domestic product (GDP), disappeared almost overnight in 1990–91, at the time of the Collapse of the Soviet Union. Mongolia was driven into deep recession. Reform has been held back by the ex-communist MPRP opposition and by the political instability brought about through four successive governments under the DUC. Economic growth picked up in 1997–99 after stalling in 1996 due to a series of natural disasters and increases in world prices of copper and cashmere. Public revenues and exports collapsed in 1998 and 1999 due to the repercussions of the Asian financial crisis. In August and September 1999, the economy suffered from a temporary Russian ban on exports of oil and oil products. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1997. The international donor community pledged over $300 million per year at the last Consultative Group Meeting, held in Ulaanbaatar in June 1999. Recently, the Mongolian economy has grown at a fast pace due to an increase in mining and Mongolia attained a GDP growth rate of 11.7% in 2013. However, because much of this growth is export-based, Mongolia is suffering from the global slowdown in mining caused by decreased growth in China.

Zavkhan Province Province in Mongolia

Zavkhan is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country, 1,104 km from Ulaanbaatar. Its capital is Uliastai. The aimag is named after the Zavkhan River, which forms the border between Zavkhan and Gobi-Altai aimag.

Pastoralism branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock

Pastoralism is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as cattle, camels, goats, yaks, llamas, reindeer, horses and sheep.

Mongolian wild ass subspecies of mammal

The Mongolian wild ass, also known as Mongolian khulan, is the nominate subspecies of the onager. It is found in southern Mongolia and northern China. It was previously found in eastern Kazakhstan and southern Siberia before being extirpated there through hunting. In 2015, the Mongolian wild ass are listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. Current population estimates are approximately 42,000 individuals in Mongolia and around 5,000 individuals in Northern China.

Nomadic pastoralism is a form of pastoralism when livestock are herded in order to find fresh pastures on which to graze. Strictly speaking, true nomads follow an irregular pattern of movement, in contrast with transhumance where seasonal pastures are fixed. However this distinction is often not observed and the term nomad used for both—in historical cases the regularity of movements is often unknown in any case. The herded livestock include cattle, yaks, llamas, sheep, goats, reindeer, horses, donkeys or camels, or mixtures of species. Nomadic pastoralism is commonly practised in regions with little arable land, typically in the developing world, especially in the steppe lands north of the agricultural zone of Eurasia. Of the estimated 30–40 million nomadic pastoralists worldwide, most are found in central Asia and the Sahel region of North and West Africa, such as Fulani, and Tauregs, with some also in the Middle East, such as traditionally Bedouins, and in other parts of Africa, such as Nigeria and Somalia. Increasing numbers of stock may lead to overgrazing of the area and desertification if lands are not allowed to fully recover between one grazing period and the next. Increased enclosure and fencing of land has reduced the amount of land available for this practice. There is substantive uncertainty over the extent to which the various causes for degradation affect grassland. Different causes have been identified which include overgrazing, mining, agricultural reclamation, pests and rodents, soil properties, tectonic activity, and climate change. Simultaneously, it is maintained that some, such as overgrazing and overstocking, may be overstated while others, such as climate change, mining and agricultural reclamation, may be under reported. In this context, there is also uncertainty as to the long term effect of human behavior on the grassland as compared to non-biotic factors.

Gold dredge placer mining machine that extracts gold from sand, gravel, and dirt using water and mechanical methods

A gold dredge is a placer mining machine that extracts gold from sand, gravel, and dirt using water and mechanical methods.

Oyu Tolgoi mine mine in Mongolia

The Oyu Tolgoi mine is a combined open pit and underground mining project in Khanbogd sum within the south Gobi Desert, approximately 235 kilometres (146 mi) east of the Ömnögovi Province capital Dalanzadgad. The site was discovered in 2001 and is being developed as a joint venture between Turquoise Hill Resources with 66% ownership and the Government of Mongolia with 34%. The mine began construction as of 2010 and shipped its first batch of copper on 9 July 2013.

Artisanal mining

An artisanal miner or small-scale miner (ASM) is a subsistence miner who is not officially employed by a mining company, but works independently, mining various minerals or panning for gold using their own resources. Small-scale mining includes enterprises or individuals that employ workers for mining, but generally using manually-intensive methods, working with hand tools.

Relief, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Relief Hill is an unincorporated community in Nevada County, California. Relief Hill is located roughly midway between North Bloomfield and the town of Washington. It lies at an elevation of 3,947 feet. The post office established in 1894 was named Relief, and that name appears on some maps, especially those from around the turn of the nineteenth century. However, the town's inhabitants and most historians called it Relief Hill. The post office was discontinued in 1921.

The Rupa Gold mine of Karamoja, Uganda is an artisanal (informal) mine located approximately 10 km north of Moroto Town in Uganda’s Karamoja region. After years of instability caused by inter-clan cattle raiding and a decade-long military disarmament campaign in Karamoja, many people in the region have been finding alternatives to their traditional semi-nomadic pastoralist lifestyles. One such alternative is mining.

Sas Carey American film director and writer

Sas Carey is an American film director, author, teacher, holistic nurse and spiritual healer. She is best known for writing the book Reindeer Herders in My Heart: Stories of Healing Journeys in Mongolia, her films on Mongolian culture, and founding the non-profit Nomadicare, which provides health services to nomadic herders in Mongolia.

Khanbumbat Airport airport in Mongolia

Khanbumbat Airport is an airport in Khanbogd, Ömnögovi, Mongolia. The airport's construction was funded by the adjacent Oyu Tolgoi mine. It is the second airport in passenger traffic in Mongolia after Chinggis Khaan International Airport. The airport serves nearly 100,000 passengers annually.

Wild Bactrian camel species of mammal

The wild Bactrian camel is a critically endangered species of camel living in parts of northern China and southern Mongolia. It is closely related to the Bactrian camel. Both are large, double-humped even-toed ungulates native to the steppes of central Asia. Until recently, wild Bactrian camels were thought to have descended from domesticated Bactrian camels that became feral after being released into the wild. However, genetic studies have established it as a separate species which diverged from the Bactrian camel about 1.1 million years ago.

Mining in Mongolia

Mining is important to the national economy of Mongolia. Coal, copper, and gold are the principal reserves mined in Mongolia. Several gold mines are located about 110 kilometres (68 mi) north of Ulaanbaatar, such as Boroo Gold Mine and Gatsuurt Gold Mine. Khotgor Coal Mine is an open-pit coal mining site about 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of Ulaangom. Ömnögovi Province in the south of Mongolia is home to large scale mining projects such as the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine and the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine. Oyu Tolgoi mine is reported to have the potential to boost the national economy by a third but is subject to dispute over how the profits should be shared. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that 71 percent of the income from the mine would go to Mongolia.

Copper mining in Mongolia is a major industry and source of income for the country. There are only two companies that produce copper concentrate, Erdenet Mining Corporation, a Mongolian-Russian joint venture, and the Oyu Tolgoi mine, a joint venture between Rio Tinto Group, Turquoise Hill Resources, and the Government of Mongolia. Until 2010 copper was Mongolia's largest export.

There are many pressing environmental issues in Mongolia that are detrimental to both human and biophysical wellness. These problems have arisen in part due to natural factors, but increasingly because of human actions. One of these issues is climate change, which will be responsible for an increase in desertification, natural disasters, and land degradation. Another is deforestation, which is expanding due to human recklessness, pests, disease, and fire. Mongolian lands are becoming more arid through desertification, a process that is being exacerbated due to irresponsible land use. Additionally, more and more species are disappearing and at risk for extinction. And, especially in population centers, Mongolians deal with air and water pollution caused by industrialization.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Grainger David (2003-12-22). "The Great Mongolian Gold Rush". CNNMoney.com. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  2. ↑ Channel 4 UK TV program "Unreported World", 7.30 to 8.00 pm, Friday 15 June 2007
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Knight, Sam (July 21, 2007). "Ninja miners carve out a new nation". TimesOnline.
  4. ↑ "Price of Gold: Film Review" . Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  5. ↑ Filmwoche, Duisburger. "36. duisburger filmwoche - preisträger". www.duisburger-filmwoche.de. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  6. ↑ "GERMAN DOCUMENTARIES | PRICE OF GOLD | portrait | social | Sven Zellner, Chingunjav Borkhuu". www.german-documentaries.de. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  7. ↑ "Price of Gold - documentary - Trailer" . Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "Building Sand Castles on the Steppe? Mining, Herding and Water Governance in the Gobi - lacuna.org.uk". 18 February 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
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